McGinley Determined to Avoid Ryder Captain's Curse

Paul McGinley said he was determined not to let his Ryder Cup captaincy affect his performances on the course as he started with a solid two-under-par 70 at the Thailand Open on Thursday.

The 46-year-old Irishman, Europe's non-playing captain for the 2014 edition at Scotland's Gleneagles, admitted some of his predecessors had found it tough to juggle the high-pressure role with maintaining their own game.

"It is a challenge, there is no doubt about that. I think history proves that being Ryder Cup captain always takes a toll on a captain's playing career," said McGinley, who holed the winning putt in the 2002 Ryder Cup.

"I am aware of that history and all the stuff that goes on, but I would like to think I am going to be different and I am going to play well over the next two years. Certainly it is a good motivating factor for me."

McGinley mixed four birdies with two bogeys at the par-72 Thana City Golf and Sports Club to lie five shots off the clubhouse lead late on day one.

"I am playing in America next week and then I have a few weeks off and then I play in China and Korea," he said, according to a press release from organizers.

"I have got a good bit of golf coming up and the Ryder Cup stuff I am going to park for the next six weeks and I am going to be a golfer and I am looking forward to that."

Fellow Irishman and three-time major-winner Padraig Harrington is another big name at OneAsia's first event of the season, along with defending champion Chris Wood and a strong Japanese contingent led by Shingo Katayama.